In Sylheti: ছিলটী/छीलहटी Silôṭi; in Bengali: সিলেটী/ Sileṭī is the language of Sylhet (the Surma Valley), located in the north-eastern region of Bangladesh, and also spoken in parts of the Northeast Indian states of Assam (the Barak Valley) and Tripura (the North Tripura district). It is also spoken by a significant population in the other north-eastern states of India and amongst the large expatriate communities in the United Kingdom, United States, and countries of the Gulf States.

Sylheti is often either considered a dialect of Bengali, but due to significant differences between them and lack of mutual intelligibility, a strong argument can be made for them to be considered different languages. Sylheti has not been given an official status by the government of Bangladesh, and there is much debate to whether it should be so recognized. There are greater differences between Sylheti and Bengali, than between Assamese and Bengali, which are recognised as separate languages. Most Sylhetis are bilingual to at least some degree, as they are taught Bengali at all levels of education in Bangladesh. Sylhet was part of the ancient kingdom of Kamarupa, and has many common features with Assamese, including the existence of a larger set of fricatives than other East Indo-Aryan languages. According to George Abraham Grierson, "the inflections also differ from those of regular Bengali, and in one or two instances assimilate to those of Assamese".

"a" ( अ / ा ) will always be pronounced as "ah" almost like the English "ah". So, where a Syloti "blade" is written, pronunciation will be as [blah-deh].

"e" ( ए / े ) will always be pronounced as "eh/air" just as in hair. So, where a Syloti "age" is written, pronunciation will be as: [ah-geh].

"i" ( इ / ी ) will always be pronounced as "ee" as in ink/keep. So, where a Syloti "side" is written, pronunciation will be as: [see-deh].

"o" ( व / ो ) will always be pronounced as "ô/awe" as in awesome. So, where a Syloti "bloke" is written, pronunciation will be as: [blô-keh].

"u" ( उ / ु ) will always be pronounced as "ooh" as in oops/boohoo. So, where a Syloti "but" is written, pronunciation will be as: [booh-t].

The most challenging pronunciation for an English speaker will be to pronounce the "r/र" when it comes at the end of a Syloti word. For example, "rear" in English is either pronounced as [r-eh-(silent)-(silent)] or as [r-eh-ah-(silent)] whereas the "r" is almost invariably uttered as "eh" or "ah". To separate English pronunciation from Syloti pronunciation and to break the confusion in English speakers who are prone to pronuncing "rear" as r-eh without a second thought, you are now to pronounce the word "rear" as if it is a Syloti vocabulary, pronouncing it as [reh-ah-r] whereas the "r" pronunciation remain just as how it was at the start and so continues to end with the same "r" pronunciation. Please note "rear", "blade", "age", "side", "bloke" and "but" are all an example for exercising reasons only. This is due to the common English words easily read into English pronunciation.

Practise on these below:

blade ब्लादे [blah-deh]

age अगे [ah-geh]

side छीदे [see-deh]

bloke ब्लफे [blô-keh]

but बुत [booh-t]

rear रेअर [reh-ah-r]

roar रअर [rô-ah-r]

rare रारे [rah-reh]

error एर्रर [eh-r-rô-r]

rer रेर [reh-r]

rir रीर [ree-r]

ror रोर/रर [rô-r]

rur रुर [rooh-r]

Sylheti pronunciation is rather challenging as there are a number of distinctions not found in English, but don't let this intimidate you: Many Sylheti speakers do not speak standard Syloti at home, and are quite used to regional Bengali accents; mangling in various degrees. For example, the standard Syloti pronunciation for seven is xat शात [hah-t] but Sylheti speaker are used to the Bengali accent, shat सात/সাত [shah-t].

Sylheti speakers have picked up a lot of Bengali accent that if said in its own Syloti accent, the meaning changes, for example:

Bengali accent

Literal meaning

Syloti accent

Alternative meaning

Shatbar সাতবার (सातबार)

Seven-times

Xatbar शातबार

Lots of time

Shesh-kale শেষকালে (शेषकाले)

End times

Xesh-khalo शेशकालो

Late era

Sylheti also has commonality between vocabulary use of other languages'.For example:

Dur-ga: दूर-गा [Dooh-r-gah] Sanskrit for go-away, Dur-ja: দূর-জা (दूर-जा) [Dooh-r-jah] Bengali for go-away and Durza: दुरजा [Dooh-r-zah] Sylheti for go-away, are literally all the same; on the contrary, all the Dur...ga, ja and za's are said as a figure of speech to imply as to "damn you" or to "damn it".

Other examples of the Sylheti word Dur दुर [Dooh-r]:Example A

Dur दुर [Dooh-r], meaning "far", is also said as a figure of speech to "stop it!" or when in awe like "no way!".

Example B

Durho दुरहो [Dooh-rôh] (be gone/get lost) has literally the same meaning to the Hindi "Dur ho" [Dooh-r hoh], and along its meanings, it also is meant to imply as to "damn it". It is similar to "Dur" दुर (in Example A) but if said with an addition e.g. "Durho, xasa ni?" दुरहो, शाचा नीॽ [Dooh-rôh, Hah-sah nee?] i.e. "Really? Get lost!" Its meaning assimilates to the English version of "get lost", when said in an awesome mood.

Example C

Durho za दुरहो जा [Dooh-rôh zah] (away with you) is literally the same as Hindi "Dur ho ja" [Dooh-r hoh jah] and is also the same as "Durza" दुरजा [Dooh-r-zah] already mentioned above.

Durxor दुरशर pronounced [Dooh-r-hô-r] is metaphorically understood as "Move! Damn it!". The literal meaning is go-away but can also be understood as to the English "get lost" said in an angry mood.

Xor शर [Hô-r] (Move!) is a substitute to the above Durxor also implying in no respect. Worse is to pronounce it in Bengali accent Shor সর (सर) [Shô-r] (Move!), for Shuwor शुवर pronounced, [shô-r] in Syloti, means swine.

Sylheti is distinguished by a wide range of fricative sounds, which correspond to aspirated stops in closely related languages such as Bengali; a lack of the breathy voiced stops seen in many other Indic languages; word-final stress; and a relatively large set of loanwords from Arabic, Persian, Bengali and Assamese.

Although not widely known, Sylheti was formerly written in its own script, Syloti Nagri, (or नागरी, Nāgrī, the name of its parent writing system) similar in style to Kaithi but with differences, though nowadays it is invariably written in Bengali script. Bangladesh does not recognise Sylheti as a separate language, therefore literature, warning signs and notices are all written in the Bengali language.

In the 19th century, the British tea-planters in the area referred to Sylheti as Sylhettia. In Assam, the language is still referred to as Srihattiya, the name used in ancient literature. Sylhet has a rich heritage of literature in the Syloti Nagri script going back at least 200 years. The Sylheti script includes 5 independent vowels, 5 dependent vowels attached to a consonant letter and 27 consonants. The Syloti Nagri alphasyllabary differs from the Bengali alphabet as it is a form of Kaithi, a script (or family of scripts) which belongs to the main group of North Indian scripts of Bihar. The writing system's main use was to record religious poetry, described as a rich language and easy to learn.

During the 1971 Liberation War, when all Syloti Nagri printing presses were destroyed, the writing system came to a halt. After Bangladesh gained independence, the government of the newly formed Bangladesh mandated Bangla studies and the use of the Bengali alphabets as a curriculum to be taught at all levels of education. Efforts to establish Sylheti as a modern language were vigorously opposed by political and cultural forces allied to successive Bangladeshi governments.

Sylheti phrases will be written in Transcription faithful to pronunciation. Therefore, although the 'क' (ch) is equivalent to the English "chemist" and to the Scottish "Loch", its transcript will be written as either ‘k’ or ‘kh’. To remove confusion, the same will apply to all corresponding words and phrases.

Note that these characters are not used in writing Sylheti: Bengali alphabets lack similarity to Syloti Nagri script. Due to this, below are the Devanagari scrip representing the Syloti Nagri. To see Syloti characters visit www.omniglot.com.

Note that a few characters below have dual pronunciation:

The व (o/w) is equivalent to "Odin" or "Woden"

The क (ch) is equivalent to the English "chemist" and to the Scottish "Loch".

Sylheti today only survives as a spoken language: Although Sylhet has a rich heritage of literature in the Syloti Nagri script; it is not educated in schools. The liberation from East-Pakistan to Bangladesh was initiated on the principals of protecting the Bengali language. As a result of the formation in 1971, Sylheti literature has become extremely rare, almost extinct by recognition. Sylheti pupils in Bangladesh are preached in schools to recognize Sylheti as a dialect of Bengali and not a separate language. This teaching has convinced most of the Sylheti people into believing Sylheti as a form of corrupt Bengali.

There are no greetings based on time elements in Sylheti such as in English good morning, good afternoon, etc. Each religion has its own greetings. Muslims and Hindus greet each other by sharing "Adab" meaning "Greetings" and everyone keeps to their own religious greetings, exchanging them among their own religion. As a custom, both Muslims and Hindus alike greet by "the touching of the feet" of their elder family members. The Hindu "Pronam" meaning "Greetings" also has the same meaning to "Nomoskar" and to "the touching of the feet" while the Muslim "Adab" has two meanings, "Geetings" and "Humblest respect".

In Western cultures, using phrases like “please, thank you, you're welcome, excuse me, sorry”, etc. are so ingrained that saying them is done without a second thought. Not so for the people of the Indian subcontinent. Saying such phrases in an inappropriate circumstance might embarrass the person, or change the gravity of the phrase itself. Some of these phrases are only said in a sincere sense.. Don’t let this lead you to believe people of the Indian Subcontinent are bad mannered – nothing could be further from the truth. Instead of "please" and "thank you" use formal phrases and words; it replaces the western culture into Indian (sub-continental) good manners. Some sentiments are communicated through body language rather than verbally. To show your sincerity, a smile can be just the same. Despite all this, the use of verbal formalities in Sylhet is far more used than other places in Bangladesh.

Sylheti does have corresponding words to English, but this does not mean that the context in which it is used always correspond likewise. Phrases such as “thanks” (shukria) are use but they are not replied back to like in English; “you’re welcome”. English words are sometimes used the same, but remember just like the French have trouble with pronouncing the English 'th' - so do the Sylhetis, and therefore the 'th' is pronounced as 't'.

Same here.

Ami oio. [Ah-mee ô-ee-yô] (lit. me too)

Long time no see!

Oto buile na dekhlam! [ô-tô booh-ee-leh nah deh-kh-lah-m!]

What?

Ji? [Jee?] (formal - as in pardon?/sorry?) Kita? [Kee-tah?] (informal - as in come-again?/what?) Khixor? [Kee-hôr] (implying in no respect - as in what nonsense?) Hi? [Hee?] or He? [Heh?] (extremely rude - as in What? Err!)

What is this?

Okhṭa kita? [ôkh-ṭah kee-tah?]

Using "Ji" as yes or affirmative:

With the words for "yes" and "no" - "ji" is added before it to make polite formalities. Sometimes, listeners simply reply with ji, as an acknowledgment to the speaker.

Yes.

Ji hoe. [Jee ôh-eh] (formal)Hoe. [ôh-eh] (informal)

No.

Ji na. [Jee nah] (formal)Na. [Nah] (informal)

The word 'please'.

'Please' is a bad expression when requesting a grocer for a grocery bag. Please is only used when you (plea to a) request for an aid: e.g. "Please, complete this for me." i.e. "Doea-khori amar o khan ta adae khori laiba?”

There's no difference in "Xesh"-rait [Heh-sh rah-eet] and "Shesh"-rait [Sheh-sh rah-eet] but only in accent. Literally, they are both the same, but note that "xesh" [heh-sh] is applied to 'late' and "shesh" [sheh-sh] is referred to 'end' quite often in Syloti.

Note that these Calendar months do not fall in as January being Mohorrom or Boishakh. All calendars consists of different number of days per month; some are lunar calendars while some are solar calendars.

Time is written in both 12 hour clock and 24hr clock, the same as English or Bengali e.g 6:25pm or 18:25 i.e 6:25am or 06:25 hours.
Although Sylheti uses both methods, only the 12-hour clock is verbally used, to say the clock time, AM or PM, the cycle of day to night and night to day is said before the hour. For example:

7:40 AM is said: (at morning seven - fourty)

bian kur(s)hat ta - sallish

4:45 AM is said: (at dawn quarter to five)

rait phuwaephone phash ta

3:10 AM is said: (at late night three - ten)

hesh rait kurtin ta - dosh

12:00 AM is said: (at midnight twelve)

maz rait kurbaro ta

10:20 PM is said: (at night ten - twenty)

rait kurdosh ta - bish

7:05 PM is said: (at dusk seven - five)

beil kur(s)hat ta - phas

3:20 PM is said: (at day three - twenty)

dinortin ta - bish

From noon to midday, PM is said as: (at day _____ - _____)

dinor _____ - _____

Date is written by day first, then the month and last is the year. For example: Day / Month / Year is in writing as 23 [MONTH] 2012, but when speaking one can take the liberty to phrase a certain date as how they like: e.g.

PLEASE NOTE: Sylheti language has not been given an official status by the government of Bangladesh. Therefore, all signs are written in the Bengali language; Learn more from the Bengali phrasebook.OPEN